1. Ga. insurance agency arms employees.
Agents at Lance Toland Associates' offices in Atlanta, Griffin and St. Simons Island were issued office guns along with their office computers. The employees all pack the Judge, a handgun manufactured by Taurus International Manufacturing Inc. that can chamber .410 shotgun shells and .45-caliber bullets. At close range, it is devastating. Owner Lance Toland said it's a nice insurance policy against someone who would harm his workers, who specialize in aviation coverage. Guns have been a hot topic at the state Capitol this year, too. Just this week, the state House voted to legalize carrying concealed guns on Georgia's college campuses. Read more.
Leaders of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium construction team stressed the complexity of the structure's roof during an update to a state board Tuesday. But barring further delays, that won't prevent the Falcons from opening the 2017 season in the stadium, but it will force Blank's new professional soccer team, Atlanta United, to play on the road for at least the first three months of its inaugural MLS season. In the presentation to the GWCCA board Tuesday, Wadsworth said all 18,000 "shop drawings" for the fixed portion of the stadium roof will have been processed and approved by the end of this month, calling that "a very major milestone." Read more.
3. Flights canceled to help whooping cranes migrate across Georgia.
No longer will majestic whooping cranes fly over Georgia guided by birdlike ultralight aircraft. The annual avian spectacle ended last month as a half-dozen birds and their pilots waited in South Georgia, grounded by rain, uncooperative winds and bureaucratic wranglings. Finally, on Jan. 30, the endangered birds left Climax in Decatur County for the final push into Florida and their winter home at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. The 15-year, $20 million experiment to boost the whooping crane population had ended. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled last month that the migratory birds don't successfully produce chicks and raise them in the wild. And only 10 of those birds developed the feathers needed to fly. Other wildlife experts concurred that the aircraft and the funky suits the bird handlers and pilots wear to appear cranelike aren't working. Read more.
4. Braves happy to have Francoeur back to where he started.
Jeff Francoeur reports to Braves spring training Wednesday, and that is nothing but good in the view of current Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez and legendary former manager Bobby Cox. It's uncertain whether Francoeur can secure a spot on the opening-day roster after signing a minor league contract Monday that included an invitation to big-league spring training. But just having "Frenchy" around in spring training will be a positive in the view of team officials. Francoeur reached the majors in 2005 until he was traded in 2009. Read more.
5. Kasich is bouyant among skeptics in Georgia.
With Trump at the top of the polls in Georgia and other states heading into Tuesday's SEC primary, Ohio Gov. John Kasich is facing increasing pressure to electrify his sunny campaign message — or stand aside and make way for Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio to emerge as the mainstream Republican alternative. But the Kasich campaign still has hopes for the Peach State. Georgia's rules gives him the chance at picking off a few delegates if he places in the top two in any of Georgia's 14 congressional districts, which explains why he's targeting the two more moderate metro Atlanta districts that Mitt Romney wrested from Newt Gingrich in the state's 2012 primary. Read more.
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